PDP leaders split over whether to micro-zone presidential ticket to the northwest in bid to beat Buhari

PEOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) leaders are facing a serious dilemma ahead of its national convention taking place in Port Harcourt on October 6 as its members are under pressure to elect a candidate from the northwest geo-political zone.

Currently, there are 12 candidates seeking the PDP presidential ticket and the fight is likely to go right down to the wire at the party convention taking place in the Rivers State capital next month. Candidates seeking the party nomination, include Atiku Abubakar,  Ahmed Makarfi, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Aminu Tambuwal, Bukola Saraki, Ibrahim Dankwambo, Sule Lamido, Tanimu Turaki, Attahiru Bafarawa, Jonah Jang, Ahmed Datti and David Mark.

However, pressure is mounting on delegates to pick a presidential candidate from the northwest because some party leaders believe it is the only way they stand a reasonable chance of defeating President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC). President Buhari is from Katsina State, one of the seven states that make up the zone, which has the largest voting population in Nigeria of about 18m people.

However, some other PDP members say there should be no micro-zoning the ticket to any zone as doing so will automatically foreclose the aspiration of the likes of senate president Bukola Saraki from north central and former vice president Atiku Abubakar from the north east. It is also believe that such micro-zoning would generate bad blood ahead of an election they need to contest as a united front.

One governor said: "Without prejudice to other presidential aspirants, there is pressure on PDP governors to zero in on the northwest for our presidential candidate. The argument of those pro-northwest is the need for PDP to take the battle to the stronghold of Buhari where he commands cult followership.

“It is taken for granted that the south-south, the southeast and a part of the north central zones might be controlled by PDP. I must confess to you that most of us in the PDP Governors Forum are buying into the idea because with the exception of Atiku from the northeast, whose nomination might split the party, no other aspirants could match Buhari in the north."

Also currently causing unease in the party is the venue of the national convention. Many PDP governors see the host Nyesom Wike, as a strong backer of one of the presidential aspirants, Sokoto State governor Aminu Tambuwal and they fear he might unduly influence the process if it takes place in his state.

 “The danger of not micro-zoning the presidential slot in PDP is that the money-bag aspirants will use their huge cash to buy over delegates which might lead to the emergence if a weak candidate for our party. We know Wike might want to use his political influence in favour of his preferred aspirant but we are battle ready to checkmate him.

“We want the best for PDP, so we will not allow imposition by Wike who is showing a suspicious interest in the presidential primaries. We learnt that Rivers State was the first to indicate interest than others because of the high cost implications and also, it is a honour for Prince Uche Secondus who is from the state," the governor added.

Some of the governors recently met in Abuja and  have been exploring ways of  checkmating  Governor Wike from imposing a presidential candidate on the party. Meanwhile, the issue of a consensus candidate has been discarded all together by the 12 PDP presidential aspirants with all of them fully focused on the primaries.